In this podcast Dr Amy Manley talks to Dr Kate Saunders about her study on psychiatric assessment of mood instability using qualitative methods to explore the patient experience of the assessment process.

Emotional instability is a common reason for presentation to
mental health services. Bipolar disorder and emotionally unstable
personality disorder both include emotional instability in their
diagnostic criteria. Diagnosis is often difficult and clinicians
don’t always agree upon a diagnosis in a specific individual. This
can be frustrating for a patient and have significant implications
for management and prognosis. Surprisingly however, there has been
limited previous research into the patient’s experience of this
assessment process.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this podcast we hope you will:

have gained an understanding of the patient experience and how
it influences the diagnostic process

appreciate the implications of these findings for clinical
practice and future research

consider the consistency of care and service provisions
for patients with bipolar disorder and borderline personality
disorder.